Getting started, part 2: Choose exercise first

Okay, now that you're properly motivated to make positive changes in your life, where do you begin? After all, if you're looking at cleaning up your diet and getting in shape, you're facing a whole lot of change in your life and it can be a daunting task just figuring out what to do first.

I recommend starting with exercise, and there are several reasons for this.

First, exercise will most immediate, most noticeable impact on your life. It's been my experience that, once you get settled into an exercise routine, your body begins to choose healthier paths of its own accord. Suddenly you start to crave all those vitamins and minerals that are in vegetables. You start to shun those cheeseburgers, because you know they're just going to sit in your stomach like a ball of lead when you're out running or cycling or doing aerobics.

Second, when you're making drastic changes in your life, I think it's better to start with active changes, like exercising, than passive ones, like not eating certain foods. For one, you will gain a certain level of pride from tackling those active changes. For another, it's just mentally easier to concentrate on doing something, rather than not doing something.

Finally, there is no point trying to adjust your diet when you begin an exercise program, especially if you've been hitherto leading a slothful existence. That's because your body is going to suddenly be going through a whole range of adjustments which will be counterproductive to dieting.

I'll explain. Now, everyone is different, but you can probably expect, upon starting a fitness regimen, your appetite is going to plummet. That might sound counterintuitive at first, but that's just the way it goes. In fact, your mouth might spend a lot more time as an exit than an entrance that first week or two. When I first got serious about cycling, I told people that it was suddenly easy to eat right and not smoke, because who wants to eat or smoke when you're busy puking your guts out and coughing up a lung? Don't worry, you've probably got plenty of fat to live off of to get you through it.

After that first week or two, though, your appetite will return ... with a vengeance. Again, don't worry about it. You might feel like you're undoing all of your exercise by pigging out afterwards -- and you probably are -- but right now it's important to just listen to your body. You've been living a life of relatively little exertion, and now you're upping the ante quite a bit. Your body is just like any other machine, and once it starts using more energy, it's going to require a lot more fuel. At this point, you are building strength, and even if you're eating too many calories, you're probably better off eating too much rather than too little.

Eventually, that monstrous appetite will go away. Your body will become more efficient at converting and burning energy, and you will find yourself eating about the same amount as you did before you started exercising. Once you get to that point (again, it varies with the individual, but probably about a month after you start), you'll be ready to start thinking about your diet.

Okay, so we've determined that you need to begin with exercise. Come back tomorrow and we'll start talking about what type exercise to do.